Energy
Tesla co-founder’s battery recycling firm gets a cushy $700M investment round
Redwood Materials, a battery recycling company founded by Tesla co-founder J.B. Straubel, has announced a $700 million investment round from external investors. The round was led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., and includes contributions from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Baillie Gifford, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and Fidelity. Additionally, Series B investors included Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Capricorn’s Technology Impact Fund, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, Emerson Collective, and Franklin Templeton.
In an attempt to keep up with the growing market of car manufacturers and other transportation companies transitioning to electrification, Redwood knows that the demand for lithium-ion batteries and other materials crucial to their operation will need to be reused. Redwood’s ultimate goal is to create a “closed-loop supply chain for electric vehicles and energy products, making them truly sustainable and continuing to drive down the costs for batteries,” the company said.
Credit: Redwood Materials
After opening up a new facility near Tesla’s Gigafactory Nevada earlier this year, Redwood plans to expand its recycling efforts to make batteries more Earth-friendly and cost-effective, a plan that Straubel outlined.
“With this capital, Redwood will be able to accelerate our mission to make battery materials sustainable and affordable, accomplishing the change we need in the world with a circular economy,” Straubel, CEO of Redwood Materials, said. “We’re grateful for these strategic investors who bring decades of experience investing in and supporting companies that build transformative technology and who understand the mission and value of what Redwood is working to achieve.”
Battery manufacturing efforts are expanding through third-party suppliers and automotive manufacturers. Tesla is one of the most notable, holding several partnerships with companies like Panasonic, LG Chem, and CATL for its battery needs. Other companies, like Volkswagen, have also outlined massive battery cell manufacturing goals through the next decade and beyond, preparing for a large-scale offensive as the race for EVs continues.
However, Redwood’s recycling efforts would only improve the situation for these automakers. Instead of scraping hazardous materials from batteries after their lifespan ends, the batteries can be reused and implemented into packs after being recycled. Not only would this improve the availability of battery cells for carmakers, but it would also create a more sustainable environment in the battery manufacturing field and improve the cost of electric cars. The most expensive part of an electric vehicle is the battery pack, and due to the limited availability of battery cells, costs will only improve when more are available. With the production of new cells from various manufacturers and the recycling of old cells from companies like Redwood, costs will decrease, making electric vehicles more affordable in the long run.
“We are excited to begin this investment in the talented and accomplished team at Redwood as they expand their pursuit of building a world-class sustainable, closed-loop battery supply chain for electric vehicles,” T. Rowe Price Growth Stock Fund portfolio manager Joe Fath said. “In our view, the need for these materials will grow exponentially over time as we enter the era of de-carbonization. We believe Redwood is well-positioned to be at the forefront of tackling this emerging and critically important problem.”
Redwood’s current workload includes developing processes to produce battery materials that can be resold into the battery supply chain, making elements of the cell more readily available. Redwood has a currently active partnership with Panasonic at the Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada, along with other collaborations with Envision AESC in Tennessee, the company responsible for the Nissan LEAF battery packs, and Amazon for recycling lithium-ion batteries and other e-waste from their massive business.
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Energy
Tesla inks multi-billion-dollar deal with LG Energy Solution to avoid tariff pressure
Tesla has reportedly secured a sizable partnership with LGES for LFP cells, and there’s an extra positive out of it.
Tesla has reportedly inked a multi-billion-dollar deal with LG Energy Solution in an effort to avoid tariff pressure and domesticate more of its supply chain.
Reuters is reporting that Tesla and LGES, a South Korean battery supplier of the automaker, signed a $4.3 billion deal for energy storage system batteries. The cells are going to be manufactured by LGES at its U.S. factory located in Michigan, the report indicates. The batteries will be the lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, chemistry.
Tesla delivers 384,000 vehicles in Q2 2025, deploys 9.6 GWh in energy storage
It is a move Tesla is making to avoid buying cells and parts from overseas as the Trump White House continues to use tariffs to prioritize domestic manufacturing.
LGES announced earlier today that it had signed a $4.3 billion contract to supply LFP cells over three years to a company, but it did not identify the customer, nor did the company state whether the batteries would be used in automotive or energy storage applications.
The deal is advantageous for both companies. Tesla is going to alleviate its reliance on battery cells that are built out of the country, so it’s going to be able to take some financial pressure off itself.
For LGES, the company has reported that it has experienced slowed demand for its cells in terms of automotive applications. It planned to offset this demand lag with more projects involving the cells in energy storage projects. This has been helped by the need for these systems at data centers used for AI.
During the Q1 Earnings Call, Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja confirmed that the company’s energy division had been impacted by the need to source cells from China-based suppliers. He went on to say that the company would work on “securing additional supply chain from non-China-based suppliers.”
It seems as if Tesla has managed to secure some of this needed domestic supply chain.
Energy
Tesla Shanghai Megafactory produces 1,000th Megapack for export to Europe
The Shanghai Megafactory was able to hit this milestone less than six months after it started producing the Megapack.
Tesla Energy has announced a fresh milestone for its newest Megapack factory. As per the electric vehicle maker, the Shanghai Megafactory has successfully produced its 1,000th Megapack battery.
The facility was able to hit this milestone less than six months after it started producing the grid-scale battery system.
New Tesla Megapack Milestone
As per Tesla Asia in a post on its official accounts on social media platform X, the 1,000th Megapack unit that was produced at the Shanghai Megafactory would be exported to Europe. As noted in a CNEV Post report, Tesla’s energy products are currently deployed in over 65 countries and regions globally. This allows Tesla Energy to compete in energy markets that are both emerging and mature.
To commemorate the 1,000th Megapack produced at the Shanghai Megafactory, the Tesla China team posted with the grid-scale battery with celebratory balloons that spelled “Megapack 1000.” The milestone was celebrated by Tesla enthusiasts on social media, especially since the Shanghai Megafactory only started its operations earlier this year.
Quick Megafactory Ramp
The Shanghai Megafactory, similar to Tesla’s other key facilities in China, was constructed quickly. The facility started its construction on May 23, 2024, and it was hailed as Tesla’s first entry storage project outside the United States. Less than a year later, on February 11, 2025, the Shanghai Megafactory officially started producing Megapack batteries. And by March 21, 2025, Tesla China noted that it had shipped the first batch of Megapack batteries from the Shanghai plant to foreign markets.
While the Shanghai Megafactory is still not at the same level of output as Tesla’s Lathrop Megafactory, which produces about 10,000 Megapacks per year, its ramp seems to be quite steady and quick. It would then not be surprising if Tesla China announces the Shanghai Megafactory’s 2,000th Megapack milestone in the coming months.
Energy
Tesla launches first Virtual Power Plant in UK – get paid to use solar
Tesla has launched its first-ever Virtual Power Plant program in the United Kingdom.
Tesla has launched its first-ever Virtual Power Plant program in the United Kingdom. This feature enables users of solar panels and energy storage systems to sell their excess energy back to the grid.
Tesla is utilizing Octopus Energy, a British renewable energy company that operates in multiple markets, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States, as the provider for the VPP launch in the region.
The company states that those who enroll in the program can earn up to £300 per month.
Tesla has operated several VPP programs worldwide, most notably in California, Texas, Connecticut, and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. This is not the first time Tesla has operated a VPP outside the United States, as there are programs in Australia, Japan, and New Zealand.
This is its first in the UK:
Our first VPP in the UK
You can get paid to share your energy – store excess energy in your Powerwall & sell it back to the grid
You’re making £££ and the community is powered by clean energy
Win-win pic.twitter.com/evhMtJpgy1
— Tesla UK (@tesla_uk) July 17, 2025
Tesla is not the only company that is working with Octopus Energy in the UK for the VPP, as it joins SolarEdge, GivEnergy, and Enphase as other companies that utilize the Octopus platform for their project operations.
It has been six years since Tesla launched its first VPP, as it started its first in Australia back in 2019. In 2024, Tesla paid out over $10 million to those participating in the program.
Participating in the VPP program that Tesla offers not only provides enrolled individuals with the opportunity to earn money, but it also contributes to grid stabilization by supporting local energy grids.
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